News in brief: Amiri and Wirtz nominated for Player of the Month

A tight-knit duo have emerged in the Werkself attacking midfield in recent weeks: Nadiem Amiri and Florian Wirtz have thrilled fans with their excellent technique and outstanding work rate. The Germany international played 350 minutes in the four league fixtures in December and shone as a provider in all of the matches. The 17-year-old Wirtz only played five minutes less than Amiri in December and also scored two goals – including in the 4-0 derby win against his former club FC Köln.

The Werkself duo have now been included in the ‘EA SPORTS Player of the Month’ vote. The final result comes from the votes of club management and pundits for 30 per cent each plus 40 per cent from the fan vote. Also nominated are Robert Lewandowski, Thomas Müller (both FC Bayern), Lars Stindl (Borussia Mönchengladbach) plus Vincenzo Grifo (SC Freiburg). Click HERE for the online vote.

Day off training

Noteworthy: The Amiri/Wirtz duo are carrying on in the New Year where they left off in December. In the 2-1 defeat against Eintracht Frankfurt the youngster skilfully chipped the ball over the Eintracht Frankfurt defence to Amiri, who was somewhat fortunate to come out on top against Erik Durm and then scored the opening goal with a back-heel (10’) – a wonderful strike.

The 2-1 defeat in Frankfurt marked the start of a packed fixture list in January with seven games. After a recovery session on Monday it was back to action 24 hours later: The weekly fitness session demanded a lot from the players as usual so they have been rewarded with a day off in the middle of the week.

Julian Baumgartlinger and Co. will return on Thursday to prepare for the Bundesliga home game against Werder Bremen. The first match at the BayArena in the New Year is on Saturday 9 January (kick-off: 15.30 CET).

Bailey wins vote for ‘Goal of the Month’

While the winner of the ‘Player of the Month’ in the Bundesliga remains to be determined, the fan vote for the Bayer 04 Goal of the Month, presented by like2drive, already has a winner. Leon Bailey’s brilliant curler into the top corner from a quick corner in the home game against TSG 1899 Hoffenheim (4-1) received the most votes from Werkself supporters. The best goal in December can be watched HERE. Congratulations!

The ARD Sportschau has also included the Bailey strike in their vote for Goal of the Month. You can vote for winger up to midnight on 13 January by phone on 0049 (0)1371 / 36900 –plus final digit 1 as well as online at sportschau.de. Click HERE for the online vote.

Son puts Tottenham through to the final

The former Leverkusen player sealed a place in the final: Tottenham Hotspur beat second division Brentford 2-0 in the semi-final of the English League Cup on Tuesday night. A key player on the night was Heung-min Son who sealed victory with the second goal on 70 minutes.

The 28-year-old joined Bayer 04 from Hamburg SV in the summer of 2013 and developed into a top international player at Leverkusen. After two years and 62 Bundesliga matches (21 goals) for the Werkself, the South Korean signed for Spurs, where he is now playing under José Mourinho – and he could help the Portuguese coach secure his first trophy with Tottenham Hotspur in the final against Manchester United or Manchester City.

Reeb is 49: Historic events on birthday

On occasion of the 49^th birthday of Jörg Reeb on Wednesday, the Bayer 04 archivist has found some interesting anecdotes from the 1990s: Born in Saarbrücken, he played in the Bundesliga for Arminia Bielefeld from the summer of 1995. A year after his move, Arminia also signed Rob Maas; the current assistant coach to Peter Bosz came from Feyenoord.

Reeb and Maas formed a reliable duo in defensive midfield at Arminia Bielefeld. Arminia finished fourteenth in the league at the end of the first season but relegation to the second tier followed in 1998 when they finished bottom of the table – but not for Reeb and Maas. They stayed in the top flight. Maas signed for Hertha Berlin, Reeb for Bayer Leverkusen. He stayed for a total of three years and twice finished a runner-up in the Bundesliga under Christoph Daum. Bayer 04 wish him many happy returns on his 49^th birthday.

Maske and Akkaynak a year older

He’s a high-profile Werkself fan and and was also an entrepreneur in the Leverkusen: Former professional boxer Henry Maske. The middleweight Olympic Gold medal winner of 1988 and later world champion operated a large number of McDonalds restaurants as franchises up to last year including in Bergisch Gladbach and in the shadow of the East Stand at the BayArena. The Bayer 04 supporter was 57 on Wednesday. Happy birthday!

The day before, the former Leverkusen youth player Atakan Akkaynak celebrated his 22^nd birthday. Born in Troisdorf, he signed for Leverkusen at the age of seven and progressed through all the youth teams up to the U19s. In the summer of 2018, the central midfielder moved on to make his senior debut for Willem II (Holland), and last year he signed for Turkish top flight side Caykur Rizespor. Akkaynak is currently on loan at third division Türkgücü München. A belated happy birthday from Bayer 04.